Simply Fancy Ravioli Cassarole

Updated on December 23, 2012

My fancy Ravioli casserole | Source

Another pic of my fancy Ravioli casserole | Source

Ravioli Casserole Is Comfort Food.

To me Ravioli Casserole is a down home comfort food, and it will warm your tummy with it's tasty goodness. It is very filling and satisfying. This is also a wonderful kid friendly meal. And what child does not like Ravioli? This recipe is really easy to make as well. The residents in the retirement home I work in liked the change of pace. So without further ado onto making some Ravioli Casserole.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1 onion, rough chopped

1 greenbell pepper, rough chopped

1 14.5oz can of beef broth

2 14.5oz cans of stewed tomatoes, diced is good also

1 1lb. 8oz bag of Spinach & Cheese Ravioli

1 1lb. 8oz bag of plain Cheese Ravioli

1/2 cup of Italian Dressing

2 24oz jars of pasta sauce ( your choice of flavor )

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Garlic powder ( to taste)

Oregano

Instructions:

(Note) Do not un thaw the ravioli first. In a good sized pot, add some olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot, and heat it up on low heat, ( you do not want to burn the oil ) then add the onions and green bell pepper, saute till soft. Next you will add the ground beef. Be sure to break it up into small pieces, we don't want big chunks of meat. When that is halfway browned, drain the fat off the meat. Next just add the stewed tomatoes, garlic powder, beef broth, Italian dressing and the pasta sauce. There is no need to heat the sauce up. Just stir it all together, and it is ready to pour over the ravioli.

Next pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large rectangular baking dish, ( which I like to line with tin foil), it makes cleanup a breeze. Or even better yet, my favorite ( an aluminum throw away pan). You can get them at the dollar store. Take some of the pasta sauce and spread it over the bottom of the baking dish. Next add the frozen ravioli and pour the pasta sauce over the top, and toss it around to coat it.

Place the baking dish into the heated oven. Bake it for 50 minutes or until the ravioli is tender. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the cheese evenly over the ravioli, sprinkle lightly with some oregano and return it to the oven, and then bake it until the cheese has melted. Remove the pan from the oven, and serve the ravioli hot with some fresh Italian bread. You can have a tossed salad on the side, if you want to. And there you have it. A really simple and easy recipe.

Note: If you don't want to use ground beef, you can use ground sausage ( hot or sweet). Or even both beef and sausage. It all depends on how fancy you want to make the dish. And be sure to use plenty of sauce, as you don't want the ravioli dry.

This recipe should serve at least 10 people, depending on the portion size.

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